16 Democrats release letter opposing Nancy Pelosi as next speaker of the House

A group of 16 Democrats on Monday released a letter opposing
Nancy Pelosi as the next speaker of the House.

The signatories are a mix of current House Democrats and
incoming freshmen elected earlier in November.

Pelosi is so far running unopposed but will need at least 218
votes on the House floor to become speaker.

WASHINGTON - A group of Democratic representatives and several
incoming freshmen on Monday released a letter opposing Nancy
Pelosi's becoming the next speaker of the House in January when
the new Congress forms.

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The 16 Democrats, five of whom were elected for the first time
this November, detailed their reasoning for refusing to back
Pelosi in a call for new leadership.

"As we head toward the 116th Congress and reclaim our Democratic
majority, we believe more strongly than ever that the time has
come for new leadership in our Caucus," the letter reads. "We are
thankful to Leader Pelosi for her years of service to our Country
and to our Caucus. She is a historic figure whose leadership has
been instrumental to some of our party's most important
legislative achievements."

They claimed that the party regained the majority in the House
thanks in part to many candidates' repeated public opposition to
the current leadership structure.

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"However, we also recognize that in this recent election,
Democrats ran and won on a message of change. Our majority came
on the backs of candidates who said that they would support new
leadership because voters in hard-won districts, and across the
country, want to see real change in Washington," they added. "We
promised to change the status quo, and we intend to deliver on
that promise."

While the group is small in the scope of the Democrats' newfound
House majority, several other recently elected Democrats have
said they do not plan to vote for Pelosi as speaker but did not
sign the letter, which could place her in a
fair amount of trouble. Pelosi will need at least 218 votes
on the House floor to become speaker.

There are also contingents of Democrats who
have expressed frustration with the leadership team's lack of
"geographic diversity" among other issues.

And while President Donald Trump has said he wants Pelosi to be
the next speaker, even encouraging Republicans to get on board
with her bid, the longtime California Democrat has said she
intends to "win the speakership with Democratic votes."

"You cannot have the four leaders of Congress, the president of
the United States, these five people, and not have the voice of
women," Pelosi
said in an interview on CBS on November 11. "Especially since
women were the majority of the voters, the workers in campaigns,
and now part of this glorious victory."

Pelosi noted in her Thursday press conference that most of the
Democrats who signed the letter are men.

The group of Democrats is also pushing for Rep. Marcia Fudge of
Ohio to challenge Pelosi. But Fudge has
not decided whether to run, taking the weeklong Thanksgiving
break to mull it over.